Brian and Libby's Blog

Independence Day?

Last November, Thomson (my employer) announced their 2006 holiday schedule and with it, the news that all of its employees were getting 2 less floating holidays but an extra holiday on the Monday before July 4th (as if that somehow balances out...???). So since then, and especially since the "purchase" (I use that term very loosely) of our new home, I have been anticipating this extremely rare 4-day weekend. I am sort of a busybody who never has enough time to do everything I want around the house so a day off with nothing planned is like a total playday to me, and knowing that by this 4-day weekend I would have just moved into the new house...well 2 days off and a bunch of yet-to-be-unpacked boxes is pretty much like Christmas to me, so you can imagine my excitement.

Well, as time rolled along, we realized that Brian would be at Jr. High camp that week, so I would be reveling in the joys of unpacking alone. It put a damper on the plans, but still, nothing a whole bunch of empty kitchen cabinets couldn't fill. Well, since we have neither closed on nor moved into our home this long weekend held no unpacking at all. It just held me and 2 full days of absolutely nothing to do.

Let me frame this scene a little bit...from September to June, with very few exceptions, my weeks look like this, in addition to my daily work schedule: Monday - class, Tuesday - homework, Wednesday - band practice, Thursday - Vertical (youth group), Friday night - free, Sunday night - church, Sunday morning - church, Monday [repeat]. This summer I had a couple more free days each week as Vertical ended for the school year. And last week I finished my 6-week summer semester...the end of which brings with it the most wonderful thing I have been able to preserve in "my-so-called-adult-life." That being, of course, my version of summer vacation...7 weeks in which I am only busy one night a week, if at all. Seven glorious weeks in which I do not do homework, I grill almost every night, and I eat an uncharacteristically large amount of ice cream.

Back to Independence Day: This 4-day weekend was to be the kick-off of my 2006 do-nothing (or should I say, do much less) summer. But I have learned a very valuable lesson in the last 48 hours. Something funny happens when you get married, and you may not even really notice it...I didn't. When Brian left for camp, I was really, really lonely. Not like "go home, watch soaps and eat Ben and Jerry's" lonely, but definitely "this is not as fun as I thought it would be" lonely. In short, things just aren't as much fun without him. Yes, I am guilty of not knowing what I've got till it's gone, because I constantly complain about the little things, like Brian not hanging his shirts up, or using a new towel EVERY day...but as it turns out, by about noon yesterday all of that was cleaned up and it only magnified his absence.

I consider myself a very independent person, and any of you newlyweds out there know that when you get married you learn how to balance your independence with an interdependence you share with your spouse. Over the past 3 years Brian's been away dozens of times, and I've been fine with a few days on my own...even enjoyed it. But during this holiday weekend, I've learned a few things. Independence is great, but having someone to share your 4th of July with...that is truly spectacular.

posted by Libby @ 5:50 PM